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NBA denies Mavericks protest of loss to Warriors, calls owner Mark Cuban's complaint 'inaccurate'

Jason Owens
Staff writer
·3 min read
121

The NBA has denied a protest by the Dallas Mavericks of their March 22 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

In denying the protest on Thursday, the league acknowledged that officials "could have taken steps to better manage this particular situation on the play in question." The Mavs protested a referee's decision that led to confusion over possession of the ball, resulting in an uncontested dunk for the Warriors in a 127-125 win.

"The incident occurred with nearly 14 minutes remaining in the game, and Dallas thereafter took the lead twice the final four minutes,” the NBA statement reads. "Under these circumstances, Dallas was not able to show — as required under the standard for NBA game protests — that it was deprived of a fair opportunity to win the game, and the protest failed on that basis alone."

DALLAS, TEXAS - MARCH 22: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban reacts during a timeout in the game against the Golden State Warriors at American Airlines Center on March 22, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
Mark Cuban (Tim Heitman/Getty Images)

The Mavericks contested that officials didn't properly communicate whose possession it was during a third quarter stoppage in play. The Mavericks believed that officials signaled that possession was theirs. But the ball belonged to the Warriors, who scored an uncontested Kevon Looney dunk.

On the play in question, Golden State inbounded the ball under the Dallas basket while the entire Mavericks lineup was on the other side of the court.

Mavericks players and head coach Jason Kidd argued the play on the court. Owner Mark Cuban then tweeted that officials initially signaled that possession belonged to the Mavericks. Per Cuban, officials changed the call to Warriors possession during a timeout and didn't inform the Mavericks.

Crew chief Sean Wright told a pool reporter the called was communicated accurately on the court.

"Initially, on the floor, the original signal was, in fact, Golden State ball as this can be seen on video," Wright said. "There is a second signal, but that signal is for a mandatory timeout that was due to the Mavs."

The NBA argued on Thursday that Cuban's tweet was "inaccurate."

“Those public statements were inaccurate, and in its written submission in support of protest, Dallas agreed that the referee signaled possession to Golden State,” the NBA wrote of Cuban’s complaint.

Video of the out-of-bounds play in question shows the baseline official initially pointing toward the Warriors side, then pointing back toward the Mavericks' end of the floor. Looney protested the second call, clearly under the impression the official had signaled Mavericks ball. According to the ESPN broadcast, the public address announcer said that it was Mavericks ball.

The NBA acknowledged in Thursday's announcement that officials "could have taken steps to better manage this particular situation."

The Mavericks fell to 36-37 with the loss. At the time, the loss dropped them to eighth place in the West, where a win would have put them in sixth place and in control of the final guaranteed playoff spot in the conference. Dallas has gone 2-5 since the loss to Golden State to fall to 38-42 and 11th place in the West. With two games left in the regular season, their current position in the standings would leave them in the draft lottery as the first team outside the Western Conference play-in.